by DaniAngione » Fri Feb 17, 2017 2:29 am It is a night to go down in memory. I finish my prayers to the gods of the Hearthlands before taking my sword and my shield. My hands are rough but no, not for using them - but for using the plow and the ax; for working the tools, the forge and the saw; for hunting and foraging; for lifting and hauling during months of labour from me and dozens of others... A labour of love, all together for one single purpose. But also a costly labour, one that makes us wonder if all the blood and all the sweat... if all the losses and all the sad partings... Were they worth it?
But as important as the present may be, it shall have to wait.
For this is not where our tale begins nor where it ends: It's where all shall be transformed... But for something to change there must be something else before - and this is where we'll head now: back to where it all started.
The beginning of our story is not really a beginning. It all depends on how you look at it - it was also the end. The end of a world as it was reborn...
The stench of brimstone filled the air, the thunders clapped and the waves crashed in turmoil. There was no more distinction between land and sea, sky and ground. It was all lit in flames and then it all turned into the darkest and longest night... And then it all passed... Trees started growing again, birds commenced chirping their new oldest tunes... The land turned into ash and turned green again as a new dawn greeted this new world...
There we were. Lost, confused, uncertain. Who were we? What were we doing? We had no answers so the best answer was to figure it out together.
Every tree, every rock, every animal... It was a new discovery. New things, a new life. Maybe remnants of our old selves were stuck within us, within our very souls... But who were we?
Does it matter?
Block by block, board by board, we figured out how to float and how to row, we slowly conquered the basic first steps of what we should eventually call 'civilization' and, overcoming these challenges, made ourselves a couple of boats.
There were many of us, friends in uncertainty. It got confusing to a point that we were not sure about what do to next nor where to go. Perhaps we should explore and look for shelter? Or maybe we should try to understand what was happening? But among us, where there should be strife and diversion, a voice of reason arose.
"We should band together and settle." he said "Get ourselves prepared for what is to come in the future and then we can all part different ways."
It was a wise and interesting plan, so most agreed. We quickly finished the last boats and prepared to leave.
Following his lead, we started a long journey across the rivers and the lakes of this recently born world; as if born from the womb of nature itself, we were granted its gifts and sights for the first time, we've seen stone pillars and wonderful pits of salt, mountains and lakes, plains and forests...
We rowed for a long time, sometimes having to traverse across land or avoid dangerous beasts and other dangers of the wilds... During our way we crossed paths with other people, as lost and confused as we were after the Long Night...
It didn't take long for us to lose track of time and space. We didn't know where we were anymore nor how far we traveled. We just kept going on, looking for the perfect place. The man had a vision, one of a swamp, and there would be the perfect place for us to settle. But it was very difficult to find a swamp... What we did find, however, was something that we couldn't understand.
It was an invisible - yet very real - wall. It prevented us from going further north, as if the magical and uncomprehensible forces of nature were blocking our path. No one can go any further... This can only be a sign of the gods, so we obliged.
There we stood, contemplating the irresistible force of nature, when he had a feeling:
"We should go back. We'll find our swamp there."
Back? Well, there was no way to go further into the north anyway... So let's head back. And right he was, in the end. We did find a swamp not far from the place we were initially stranded. Perhaps destiny has said it would be so, and so it was...
We started to settle a temporary camp for the first night... The sky was darkening and the howls of distant beasts could be heard among the shivering of the trees' leaves... We better be prepared and so we built some shelter, a fire and other basic infrastructure...
It was a long day of work and everyone was tired. We still didn't understand what was going on or why we were there... but those answers were soon to come.
For that night... I had a dream. And later I'd find that I wasn't the only one that had almost this very same dream...
It was a wonderful - magical - place. The sky was both radiant and dark, full of stars and glimmers like the night sky but also filled with colors and lights, purple haze and the views of other distant worlds... But so close!
Everything was moving, as if the vision was life itself. And I was a light, I had no body nor presence... It felt light and sweet, as if I could cut through the air by just thinking about it.
A grand portal of stone greeted me from beyond a lake where a small trail of dirt followed. I felt like I had to go there, as if someone was waiting for me... And indeed it was so.
Next to a small campfire, a bearded man awaited. There was something about him, something I could not understand... His eyes were deep blue as if light itself came from within his skull. His clothes were not familiar and unlike anything I've ever imagined, it was like an aura of wisdom and self-discovery surrounded him, almost as if he was myself but also everyone else... As if we're all part of his thoughts.
"Come, young hearthling." he said.
And then I realized I wasn't a light anymore. I had a body - my own body.
"Is this a dream?" I asked.
"Is it?" he replied with a smirk. "Maybe it is. But regardless of what you believe, all of this is happening inside of your head."
I had no idea what to say. This was certainly a dream - but was also so vivid. So I asked what we've all been wondering:
"Who am I?"
"You're Wulfkin, just as the ancestor before you and the one before him. The line of the Wolf, born from the Raven. And you're not alone in this family... But that shall be revealed to you later." he replied. Seeing the surprise in my face, he laughed. "But that doesn't mean anything. Not anymore. It might've meant something, long ago, in a world before this one. But this is a new world and if you want to live up to your lineage, you'll have to earn it yourself."
"Is that special?" I asked and he quickly responded "Wulfkin... EVERYONE is special. Is the shepherd that tends the sheep any better or any worse than the noble that wears his wool into battle? And this is something you must find out yourself, with your friends, along your journey." he smiled one last time before turning around and moving away. "All the hearthlings are having this very same vision right now... Across the world... Some will dream of victories, conquests, blood... Some will dream of peace, tranquility, isolation. Some will only dream of simple things, a simple life and the simple pleasures within it while others will dream of grand things, works of a lifetime that can be both beautiful or grotesque. What will you dream about? This is the right question that only the fire can reveal you."
I stood there, thinking about those words... Slowly I walked into the campfire and screamed as it engulfed me. But suddenly the pain was gone and I was floating... the night sky was blank before me with only one star left; the Northern Star, surrounded by the colorful lights of the northern sky...
Beneath it I could see a majestic city made of black and white, with shining blue banners gleaming before a tranquil bay where boats and ships from merchants all across the land were sailing. The streets were bursting with activity, trades, gambles, friendly conversations and the sounds of beer mugs clashing at each other. On every corner there was something new to admire, a park, a museum, an arena... Theatres and festivals, squares and plazas...
It was an incredible view, and like a whisper it passed through my eyes into my memory. It ended with one long sunrise as I slowly came back into the reality of our world.
As I looked around, everyone seemed as shocked as me. I knew it just as they knew it too: we all had similar dreams, we all discovered ourselves... Or were trying to.
In my head, one word got stuck... Aurora.
To be continued...
